Sunday, 30 September 2012

Polish racing driver Robert Kubica will spend at least one whole year recovering from a rally crash he suffered this morning, according to his surgeon. Kubica, who races for Renault Lotus crashed the Skoda Fabia rally car this morning and was airlifted to hospital suffering serious injuries. He has spent many hours in surgery, with [...]

Cadillac's current-generation STS was the first to use a rear-wheel-drive chassis, which at last put it on equal footing with big-name players such as the Mercedes-Benz E-class, the Lexus GS, and the BMW 5-series. That's very tough competition and, at the midpoint in its season, the STS is getting some fortification.

Limited to just 800 units, this U.S.-only STI variant is aimed at the shy, quiet wannabe banzai rally driver. The transformation from wild-child base STI to the business casual STI Limited was achieved primarily by swapping the regular car's gargantuan rear wing and roof-vane spoiler for a far more subtle, single decklid spoiler. The Limited also gets foglamps, a front air dam, unique Enkei wheels, and black Brembo calipers in place of the usual gold grippers. Inside, heated leather seats, satellite radio, and a sunroof improve the livability. Of the 800 cars, half will be painted white and half will be gray.

American Medical News reports hospitals in at least a dozen countries are learning how to translate the split-second timing and near-perfect synchronisation of Formula One pit crews to the high-risk handoffs of patients from surgery to recovery and intensive care.

"In Formula One, they have checklists, databases, and they have well-defined processes for doing things, and we don't really have any of those things in health care."

Red Bull's Sebastian Vettel, who finished second to Button after an impressive performance of his own, had an even bigger margin of superiority in Valencia but he was unable to make it count because his car failed.

Button had no such trouble. He stamped his authority on the weekend from the start of qualifying and never looked back, as all hell broke loose behind his McLaren.

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The frightening first-corner pile-up helped him in that it took out a potential threat in world championship leader Fernando Alonso's Ferrari. The Spaniard was up to third place from fifth on the grid before being assaulted by the flying Lotus of Romain Grosjean, who had collided with the other McLaren of Lewis Hamilton.

But before the race Alonso had entertained no prospect of battling for victory, and while he would almost certainly have finished on the podium, there is no reason to believe he would have troubled Button.

The Englishman also comfortably saw off in the opening laps the challenge of Lotus's Kimi Raikkonen, hotly tipped before the weekend.

Raikkonen was left to battle entertainingly with rivals including Vettel and Mercedes driver Michael Schumacher, on whom the Finn pulled an astoundingly brave pass into the 180mph swerves of Eau Rouge which was almost a carbon copy of Red Bull driver Mark Webber's move on Alonso last year.

Button, meanwhile, was serene out front, never looking under the remotest threat.

For Button, this was a far cry from the struggles he has encountered in what has not overall been one of his better seasons.

But after that he tailed off badly, struggling with this year's big Formula 1 quandary - getting the temperamental Pirelli tyres into the right operating window.

The 32-year-old had a sequence of weak races and even at other times has generally been firmly in Hamilton's shade.

Those struggles were ultimately solved by some head-scratching on set-up at McLaren, but they were undoubtedly influenced by Button's smooth, unflustered driving style.

Button's weakness - one of which he is well aware - is that he struggles when the car is not to his liking. Unlike Alonso and Hamilton, he finds it difficult to adapt his style to different circumstances.

The flip side of that is that when he gets the car's balance right, he is close to unbeatable. It is a similar situation to that of two former McLaren drivers - Ayrton Senna and Alain Prost.

Senna, like Hamilton, was usually faster, but when Prost, whose style was similar to Button's, got his car in the sweet spot he was matchless.

"I obviously have a style where it's quite difficult to find a car that works for me in qualifying," Button said on Saturday, "but when it does we can get pole position."

Perhaps an elegant style that does not upset the car or over-work the tyres was exactly what was needed through the demanding corners of Spa's challenging middle sector.

That was McLaren technical director Paddy Lowe's view, certainly.

"It could well be," Lowe said, "because it's made up of these longer flowing corners rather than the short, stop-start ones. So that may well be something he can work with well, just tucking it all up and smooth lines."

Was this the secret to Button's performance in qualifying, when he was a remarkable 0.8 seconds quicker than team-mate Lewis Hamilton?

This is a perfectly valid decision at Spa -it was a route that Raikkonen also took - and in pure lap time the two differing approaches should balance themselves out. But for them to do so, the driver with the higher downforce set-up has to make up in the middle sector the time he has lost on the straights.

As the McLaren telemetry of which Hamilton so unwisely tweeted a picture on race morning proved, however, that was not the case. Hamilton was not fast enough through sector two - indeed his time through there on his final qualifying lap was 0.3secs slower than his best in the session.

Hamilton tweeted a photo of the McLaren telemetry, prompting a rebuke from his team.

That was the real reason why he was slower than Button in Spa qualifying - not the fact he was down on straight-line speed, which was always going to be the case once he went with the set-up he did.

It's worth pointing out in this context that Hamilton was also significantly slower than Button in final practice - a fact that led him to take the gamble on the different set-up.

How Hamilton would have fared in the race will never be known, because of the accident with Grosjean.

It was a scary moment - Grosjean's flying Lotus narrowly missed Alonso's head - and the incident underlined once again why F1 bosses are so keen to introduce some kind of more effective driver head protection in the future.

From the point of view of a disinterested observer, the only plus point of the accident, which also took out the two impressive Saubers, was that it has narrowed Alonso's lead in the championship. Vettel is now within a race victory of the Spaniard.

Despite this, to his immense credit, Alonso was a picture of measured calm after the race.

Invited to criticise Grosjean, he refused. Although, being the wise owl he is, he not only had at his fingertips the statistics of Grosjean's first-lap crashes this season, but slipped them into his answer.

"I am not angry [at Grosjean]," he said. "No-one did this on purpose, they were fighting, two aggressive drivers on the start, Lewis and Romain and this time it was us in the wrong place at the wrong time and we were hit.

"It's true also that in 12 races, Romain had seven crashes at the start, so..."

It was, Alonso pointed out, a good opportunity for governing body the FIA to make a point about driving standards this season, which Williams's Pastor Maldonado has also seemed to be waging a campaign to lower.

It was an opportunity the stewards did not decline.

Grosjean will now watch next weekend's Italian Grand Prix from the sidelines after being given a one-race suspension, the first time a driver has been banned since Michael Schumacher in 1994. Maldonado has a 10-place grid penalty for jumping the start and causing his own, independent, accident.

Earlier this year, triple world champion Jackie Stewart, who is an advisor to Lotus, offered to sit down with Grosjean and give him some advice about the way he approached his races.

Stewart is famous not only for his campaign for safety in F1 but also for his impeccable driving standards during his career. He has helped many drivers in his time, but Grosjean turned him down.

On Sunday evening, I was contacted by an old friend, the two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500 and former IndyCar champion Gil de Ferran, who was involved in F1 a few years ago as a senior figure in the Honda team.

Fernando Alonso is still the driver in the best position to win the drivers’ title according to the Daily Telegraph’s Tom Cary.

“Focus and concentration will be of paramount importance and there is none stronger in this regard than Ferrari’s Fernando Alonso.”

The Guardian’s Oliver Owen thinks that it is Mark Webber’s title to lose now, and that this may be the Australian’s last realistic chance of winning the title.

“He has driven beautifully. Monaco and Silverstone spring to mind. He has been an uncompromising racer, not giving Vettel or Lewis Hamilton an inch in Turkey and Singapore respectively. Most importantly, he has largely avoided the bouts of brain fade that can wreck a season – his on-track hooning in Melbourne when racing Hamilton being the only exception. But there is a feeling that for Webber it is now or never, that a chance of a tilt at the title may never come again. He is certainly driving as if that is the case and that has been his strength.”

According to The Mirror’s Byron Young, both McLaren drivers are now out of the title hunt after their fourth and fifth place finishes in Suzuka.

“McLaren's title hopes died yesterday in a weekend from Hell at Suzuka. Jenson Button and Lewis Hamilton finished fourth and fifth in a Japanese Grand Prix they had to win to have the remotest chance of keeping their title bid alive."

The Sun’s Michael Spearman was of the same opinion, saying “Lewis Hamilton and Jenson Button's title hopes were in tatters after a shocker in Japan.”

Away from the world of multi-million-pound car development laboratories and drivers whose small change takes care of the Monte Carlo harbour fees, another drama will play out in Singapore this week. The Independent's David Tremayne joins F1's unsung heroes.

These are not select millionaires but up to 16 ordinary, yet gifted, guys; team mechanics who have worked their way up the system and often migrate from team to team, are paid real-world wages of between £30,000 and £50,000 a year, are drilled to perfection – and whose split-second synchronisation brings their teams huge rewards.

Ladies and gentlemen, we present to you the best pictures yet of the forthcoming Corvette SS. What, you've never heard of the Corvette SS? That's because it's also been called the Corvette Blue Devil. And, more recently, the Corvette ZR-1.

With the radically overhauled 2014 model, the Chevrolet Impala reaches its tenth generation. That's a big deal. The Toyota Camry is only on its ninth generation. Same goes for the Honda Accord. How about the six-decade-old Mercedes-Benz SL? A mere six generations.

The 2012 Texas State Fair formally opens its doors on Friday, meaning it’s once again time to celebrate American traditions including country music, deep-fried trans-fats, and pickup trucks. Speaking of the latter, Ford brought a few new tidbits tied to its 2013 F-150 pickup, including the revamped 2013 F-150 King Ranch edition. THE NEW KING [...]

The 2006 Detroit show marks the North American debut of the new Kia Optima, which will be nearly identical to the European Kia Magentis that was unveiled at the Frankfurt auto show in September 2005. Whereas the previous car was a restyled, bug-eyed version of the Hyundai Sonata, Kia claims that the Optima is significantly different from its Hyundai brother, although powertrains are still shared. Engine choices are include a 185-hp 2.7-liter V-6 and a 161-hp 2.4-liter four.

Sebastian Vettel set the pace in the third practice session in Singapore, three-tenths of a second ahead of Lewis Hamilton, with Fernando Alonso another three-tenths behind. Nico Hulkenberg was fourth ahead of Kimi Raikkonen, Fleipe Massa, Paul di Resta, Nico Rosberg, Bruno Senna, Michael Schumacher and Mark Webber, who slowed his progress by clonking a [...]

Michael Schumacher has been given another 10-place grid penalty for the Japanese GP, following his collision with Jean-Eric Vergne in Singapore. Earlier this year an incident at Barcelona led to a penalty in Monaco, where the Mercedes driver was fastest … Continue reading →

On this week’s episode of Epic Drives, Motor Trend editor-at-large Angus MacKenzie heads to Italy in the Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG Roadster to speak with Sir Stirling Moss. While there, MacKenzie takes a look back at the iconic Mercedes-Benz 300 SLR race car and the legendary Mille Miglia. The episode starts with a look back on [...]

The attractive Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon is derived from the recently introduced 159 sedan, and the overall length remains the same at 183.5 inches. To give a sense of size, that's roughly the same length as a Saab 9-3 SportCombi or an Acura TSX. The Sportwagon will ride on a control-arm front suspension and a multilink setup at the rear, and its power will come from one of six powerplants, including three gasoline engines that range in output from 160 hp to 260 hp and three turbo-diesels that will produce anywhere from 120 hp to 200 hp. Transmission options include a six-speed manual and a six-speed manu-matic, and 260-hp versions can be had with all-wheel drive.

Ann Arbor If the Accord Hybrid--Honda's quickest Accord--is the athlete of mid-size hybrid sedans and the Toyota Camry, with its technology-laden cabin and fuel-sipping efficiency, is the brainiac, then the new Altima Hybrid strives to be the multitalented golden child who pleases everyone. Everyone, that is, in the low-emissions states in which it will be sold: California, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Maine, Vermont, and Rhode Island.

Monday, 24 September 2012

The attractive Alfa Romeo 159 Sportwagon is derived from the recently introduced 159 sedan, and the overall length remains the same at 183.5 inches. To give a sense of size, that's roughly the same length as a Saab 9-3 SportCombi or an Acura TSX. The Sportwagon will ride on a control-arm front suspension and a multilink setup at the rear, and its power will come from one of six powerplants, including three gasoline engines that range in output from 160 hp to 260 hp and three turbo-diesels that will produce anywhere from 120 hp to 200 hp. Transmission options include a six-speed manual and a six-speed manu-matic, and 260-hp versions can be had with all-wheel drive.

The Singapore government has announced that the race will continue until at least 2017. The government said that it has looked at the costs of benefits and decided to continue the race. The conclusion was that F1 has been good for Singapore, helping to become seen as a vibrant global city. The government says that [...]

As self-proclaimed big wigs on the food chain, humans have little fear observing dangerous, wild animals, so long as they're kept in captivity. Mercedes-Benz has taken that philosophy and applied it to its S-class sedan. AMG's 518-hp, 6.2-liter lion resides under the hood of the new S63 AMG, but it's been tamed by Mercedes' finest zookeepers. Enthusiasts can look at it, salivate all over it, and even drive it, all without fear of being eaten alive.

Sunday, 23 September 2012

Nissan paved the way for mass-market electric cars with the Leaf hatchback, and now luxury division Infiniti will launch a more powerful and more refined electric sedan based on the Leaf. Shown in concept form at the 2012 New York auto show, the Infiniti LE closely foreshadows a production electric car.

Sebastian Vettel made it a clean sweep of Practice sessions, as he went fastest in FP3 at the Marina Bay Circuit. The German, who topped FP1 and FP2, notched a quickest time of 1.47.947, as the RB8 looks to be the car to beat. Lewis Hamilton came in 0.325 seconds behind his rival, with leader [...]

General Motors and the Canadian Auto Workers union announced that they’ve reached a tentative deal for a new contract that will create or save 1750 jobs, bring some $675 million in new investment to the General’s Canadian plants, and — perhaps most importantly — avoid a strike. The CAW-GM pact is said to closely follow, [...]

Saint-Genis, France - It's always nice to get a gift from your rich German uncle. Mercedes-Benz has handed off a 215-hp, turbocharged and intercooled, 3.0-liter diesel V-6 to the Chrysler Group, which has stuffed it under the hood of the 300 sedan. With 376 lb-ft of torque, just 11 lb-ft less than the 5.7-liter Hemi V-8, this engine propels the 300 to 62 mph in 7.6 seconds, only 1.2 seconds slower than the Hemi. And it returns an average of 29 mpg when cruising at 80 mph. Unfortunately, the 300C CRD (common-rail diesel) isn't offered in America.

Mazda is on a big push to improve the efficiency of all its new vehicles by using a suite of technologies called SkyActiv. The company already dropped a new 40-mpg SkyActiv four-cylinder engine into the 2012 Mazda 3, launched the efficient 2013 CX-5 crossover, and now is following up with the 2014 Mazda 6 sedan. Like the CX-5, the new midsizer is designed from the ground up to follow the SkyActiv mantra of reduced weight and improved efficiency. The car made its official debut at the Moscow Motor Show in Russia, and will go on sale around the world later this year.

Polish racing driver Robert Kubica will spend at least one whole year recovering from a rally crash he suffered this morning, according to his surgeon. Kubica, who races for Renault Lotus crashed the Skoda Fabia rally car this morning and was airlifted to hospital suffering serious injuries. He has spent many hours in surgery, with [...]

So there I was, sitting under a giant Honda tent at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course. It was the morning, I was eating breakfast, and I was staring off into the distance, idly wondering why I couldn't remember any of my high-school Japanese. (Ok, I didn't take Japanese in high school, but I'd like to pretend that I did, because the smart kids all took Japanese. I took Spanish, a language that has helped me exactly zero times in my professional life but nevertheless allowed me to insult all of my mexican college friends in their native tongue. Y tu mama tambien, bastardo!)

The Volkswagen Alltrack concept is a raised, all-wheel-drive station wagon, and you're correct in thinking we've seen this recipe before. The Subaru Outback is also an all-wheel-drive wagon that tries to bridge the gap between sedan and SUV. Volkswagen's take on that idea, the Alltrack concept, makes its debut at the New York auto show.

Friday, 21 September 2012

After much teasing, we have our first look at the all-new 2013 Jaguar F-Type roadster, and boy is it a looker. Unsurprisingly, the 2013 F-Type looks almost identical to the C-X16 concept that debuted at last year’s Frankfurt Motor Show. The primary difference between the production and concept cars is the lack of roof: the [...]

If you've been busy memorizing the stratospheric horsepower and torque numbers from Mercedes-Benz's latest AMG engine or reliving the muscle-car glory days with the Chevy Camaro and Dodge Challenger concepts, you may not have noticed that small cars are getting cool. Perhaps it's the pendulum finally starting to swing back from outsized SUVs and ever-more-gargantuan pickups. There also could be some rub-off from the digital world, where smallness is prized. And that three-dollars-per-gallon gasoline scare last fall likely spurred things along. Whatever the factors, small cars have begun to acquire a cachet of coolness they haven't had in decades.